Hello and welcome to the Wonderful World of Wabes. First things first. This is Wabes version 2.0. Here's a list of the improvements: 2.0 --- * Ghost and Wabes initial speed can now be adjusted from the opening menu. Now you can set the game to go as fast as you like. * Dot-eating sound samples no longer step all over each other in two player mode. * Fruit icons improved and fruit display changed a bit. * In order to be eligible for the High Score List the Wabes' must be travelling at the same speed or slower than the ghosts. * High Score screens are now reset individually be pressing 'r' while screen is being displayed rather than by a separate program. 1.1 --- * No major changes over 1.0, but pause feature now documented, and level designer better explained in the preview section. Wabes is SHAREWARE. This means that you are free to copy it and spread it around to whomever you choose as long as you include with the program this documentation file. So give it to your friends, lend it to your family, or show it to the President. The more people who see Wabes the better. If, after playing Wabes for a while you decide it is crap, delete it from your collection and be glad you got to try it out before being asked to buy it. If you decide that Wabes would be a valuable addition to your collection, send the modest fee of $15.00 to the author at the following address: Chris Richards P.O. Box 3311 Iowa City, IA 52244-3311, USA But That's Not All ... Anyone sending in the registration fee will receive a copy of the stunning Wabes Level Designer, which will allow you to design Wabes levels to your heart's content. You can also change the level presentation order and ghost/wabes speed on any level. It's That Easy! NOTE: If you would like your Level Designer sent to you via UUENCODED e-mail, send me your e-mail address along with your postal address. I will e-mail it to you as long as I have access to e-mail facilities. Please include your postal address as well, as I can envision a day when I may be e-mail-less. To see a preview of the Wabes Level Designer, press P at the Wabes Title Screen. Needless to say, since Wabes is SHAREWARE it may be distributed freely and freely only. No fee may be charged for Wabes save a modest handling fee, etc. etc. And now for the fun part: THE INSTRUCTIONS ---------------- Wabes is a maze game and as such does not require a great deal of explanation. You are the chomping yellow guy. You do nothing but eat and run around, hence your similarity to my cat Wabes (especially since he's neutered). Avoid the ghosts as they want to hurt you. Eat the fruit in the middle for bonus points. Every once in a while, eat one of the flashing power dots and you can go after the ghosts. Simple really. But wait ... there's more to Wabes than that ... FEATURES OF WABES ----------------- A decription of the glorious options available in Wabes: F1 -- Function key number one allows you to select what mode you would like to play Wabes in. Each different mode changes the character of the game considerably and is described as follows: ONE PLAYER - Your standard maze game. Steer Wabes around the maze without getting caught. You get a free guy at 10,000 points and every multiple of 30,000 points. This is the standard Free Guy allotment, and applies to each of the following options except where noted. TWO GUYS - A rather odd option, with two Wabes on the screen at one time, both controlled by the same joystick. This was originally a mode I used to debug the two player routines, but I had so much fun with it I thought I'd leave it in as a feature. Controlling two Wabes seems like it would be very difficult, but it turns out to be surprisingly manageable. FRIENDS - Ah, the crowning achievement of Wabes. Two players play on the same screen at the same time, but in concert with each other rather than in competition. I've always liked games where the goal is working together rather than trying to destroy each other. There just aren't very many. One, joint score appears for both players. ENEMIES - An interesting twist. Two players play on the same screen at the same time, but in competition with each other. The game ends when both players run out of lives or when one player has run out of lives and is behind. In PENALTY BOX mode both players' scores start out at a player-chosen value and the first player down to 0 wins. * NOTE: Due to the advantage the Wabes' have during TWO GUY and FRIENDS mode, the ghosts will move a little faster in these modes than in either ONE PLAYER or ENEMIES mode. F2 -- Function key number two allows you to select what will happen during the inevitable collisions with the ghosts. MORTAL - Get hit and you die. Pretty standard. This is the only option available during a one-player game. LEVEL - Get hit and you're booted out for the remainder of the level. If both Wabes get booted out during the same level, it counts as a death. This is an annoying option to use during FRIENDS or ENEMIES play as it leaves someone standing around bored until the next level starts. It's great with TWO GUYS though. ESCAPE - A personal favorite. If you're caught you get put into one of the prisons. You are sprung when your partner touches the prison you are being held in. If both Wabes get thrown into prison at the same time, it counts as a death. Not recommended for ENEMIES play because, well, your enemy probably won't free you. PENALTY BOX - Like ESCAPE above, only you aren't dependent on another player to free you; you will be let out automatically in about 10 seconds. If both your Wabes get caught at once you die, with the following exception. Due to the odd nature of the ENEMIES/PENALTY BOX combination, the rules have been changed here. There is NO death. Each player starts with a player-chosen number of points and tries to work his or her way down to zero. First one there wins. Try it out. This is the most fun competitive mode. PENALTY BOX kind of bites with the other modes. F3 -- This key allows you to choose how you would like the different Wabes levels presented. In SEQUENTIAL mode the levels will be played in order from one to twelve. In RND/NO REPLACE mode a level will be chosen at random and then removed from the pool. This means that the next level will be chosen from the remaining eleven and so on until all twelve levels have been played. Then, the pool will start over again. In RND/W REPLACE a level will be chosen at random and then replaced in the pool. F4 -- This function key allows you to adjust the speed at which the ghosts begin the game. A one (the default value) will begin the game with the ghosts moving at the speed they normally would at level one. A twelve would begin the game with the ghosts moving at the speed they mormally would at level twelve. F5 and F6 --------- These function keys allow you to adjust the speed at which Wabes One and Wabes Two begin the game respectively. A one (the default value) will begin the game with that Wabes moving at the speed he normally would at level one. A twelve would begin the game with that Wabes moving at the speed he normally would at level twelve. F5 and F6 can be adjusted independently of each other, so the two Wabes can move at different speeds. This is great for handicapping. P - The P key will show you a few screen shots from the Wabes Level Designer. Q - The Q key allows you to quit the game. Joystick Button --------------- The game can be paused at any time by pressing the joystick button, and resumed by pressing any key on the keyboard. Don't press the button accidently though; it's kind of confusing. Playing Other Boards -------------------- With the Wabes Level Designer you are able to design your own levels or modify the levels that come with the Wabes game. In order to play the modified levels, they must be loaded in. This is accomplished by holding down the shift key while pressing a button to exit the title sequence. Keep holding it down until a requester appears asking you to choose the set of levels you would like to play. A second set of levels,called OPTION2, is included on the Wabes disk. This is for people who only want to play the original level and not mess with the varied levels of OPTION, the default game. Good Combinations to Play ------------------------- * The best way to play FRIENDS mode, IMO, is in ESCAPE mode. This allows players of vastly different skill levels to play harmoniously together, as it is a challenge for the better player to continually rescue the worse player and the worse player need not become frustrated due to frequent death. Stay away from LEVEL or PENALTY BOX. LEVEL always leaves someone bored waiting for the screen to be cleared, and the standard PENALTY BOX is just too easy. * Any way to play TWO GUYS mode is pretty fun, although I like ESCAPE mode. * The best way to play ENEMIES mode is in PENALTY BOX mode. That's what PB mode was put in there for -- ghost eating is especially fun in ENEMIES because the more ghosts you eat, the more points your opponent gets if he or she eats his or her ghosts after you do. HIGH SCORE TABLES ----------------- There are nine high score tables in Wabes: one for one player mode, and one for each of the four ways TWO GUYS and FRIENDS can be played. ENEMIES has no high score list because the purpose is to destroy your opponent rather than to achieve a high score. After a high-score- worthy two player effort, each player will get a change to put his or her name in the High Score Table. These names will automatically be separated by a '&'. If only one, joint team name is desired, press RETURN at the prompt for the second name and only the first name will be displayed. In order that you be eligible for the High Score List, the ghosts musts be travelling at the same speed or greater than the two Wabes. This prevents what's known as the Nebraska pre-season football effect. In order to reset a High Score Screen, press 'r' while the screen is being displayed. Acknowledgements ---------------- The following are the people and utilities which helped me to create Wabes: AMOS 1.34/AMOS Pro - Programming language used. Truly awesome. AMOS Compiler - Also awesome. Wabes could not have worked without it. Deluxe Paint III/IV - All screens and characters. Sound editing was done with the Shareware program Sound Editor. The ghost laugh and Dragnet noises were found on a PD bulletin board and the power dot siren and free guy chord come from the Shoot 'Em Up Construction Kit sound library. The prison escape boing comes from the Mac OS beep selection. The rest I made with my mouth and a Macintosh II si. The title music Dance of the Reeds was arranged by Janne Salmijarvi who resides in the glorious Land of Fins (um, also known as Finland) as is used with his kind blessings. The High Score music piece was found on a PD bulletin board. I do not know the author. If anyone knows of any reason why any of Wabes should not be released as Shareware please get in contact with me and I will be glad to have the offending part exorcised. If you've made it this far, congratulations, you are now ready for anything. If anyone wants to pass along comments or bugs, I can currently (9/93) be reached via e-mail at: crichard@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu and hopefully will be there for several years to come. Have Fun ....